Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Lexus , Toyota , Design/Style A reshuffle in the uppermost ranks of Lexus could see the Japanese luxury brand further energize its recent focus on design. Tokuo Fukuichi, Toyota’s global design boss, is the new head of Lexus International. Fukuichi will retain his role as the overall head of design for Toyota , Lexus and Scion , and will assume his new position at the head of Lexus and on its board on April 1 (no fooling). This is going to be an interesting move for fans of design to watch, as Fukuichi has repeatedly been mentioned as a designer that enjoys pushing the envelope and experimenting. He is, after all, the man responsible for designing the most awesomely odd minivan of the 1990s, the mid-engined, rear-drive Toyota Previa, and more recently, he signed off on the controversial Lexus LF-NX concept , which is said to presage a new production small crossover. “Regarding changes in design, no one has 100 percent confidence,” Fukuichi told Forbes back in January 2013. “No one can really say with pure certainty that, ‘In two years, this will sell well.'” As Akio Toyoda continues to demand more assertive, edgier designs, it’s that point of view that should make Fukuichi a valuable addition to Lexus, as it continues to challenge the competition from Germany. Fukuichi replaces Kiotaka Ise, who will become the chief officer at Toyota Research and Development, according to Automotive News . Lexus gets new boss, and he’s a designer originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Feb 2014 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Feb. 10, 2014) — Toyota Technical Center (TTC), the North American Research and Development arm of Toyota Motor Corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is proud to sponsor the sixth generation innovative

Filed under: Performance , BMW , Toyota It’s official – there will be a jointly developed sports car from BMW and Toyota . While the two auto giants signed a Memorandum of Understanding that pledged to pursue “joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle” back in June of 2012, in the interim, it has remained unclear how those plans had been progressing. BMW has finally officially confirmed that the German and Japanese manufacturers will be codeveloping a pair of sports cars in addition to pursuing other disciplines including fuel cell systems and lightweight technologies. “We have agreed on a joint architecture for a sports car. What is important is that there will be two different vehicles that are authentic to the two brands,” BMW Development Chief Herbert Diess told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reuters is reporting. This is a very, very big step for both brands, but now the speculation can officially begin as to what the products of this agreement will look like. There’s ample reason to believe that the BMW-Toyota tie up will result in a Supra successor based on comments made by the chief engineer of the GT86/FR-S program , Tatsuya Tada, back in August. Follow that with a rumor from earlier this month that Toyota could debut a Supra concept car at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show later this month, and we could be seeing the fruits of this partnership sooner rather than later. While we can make educated guesses about what the Toyota end of this partnership will develop, the fruit from BMW’s side of this joint agreement seemingly remains more of an open question. Will it be an entirely new model, or perhaps something like Z4 Coupe replacement?

Filed under: Aftermarket , SEMA Show , SUV , Toyota , Design/Style , Off-Road Happy trails, to you… As we reported back in August, the FJ Cruiser is headed to the great automotive graveyard in the sky, and Toyota is offering a fitting eulogy in the form of the 2014 Trail Teams Ultimate Edition, which was just unveiled here at the 2013 SEMA Show . Unlike many special edition models, the Ultimate FJ Cruiser earns its name with a host of parts from Toyota Racing Development, starting with TRD Bilstein race shocks that Toyota says improve damping, articulation and high-speed stability. The front shocks measure 66 millimeters and feature TRD race coil springs, with geometry that improves the approach angle; the 50mm rear units are equipped with remote reservoirs to diminish damping fade. A new one-quarter-inch thick aluminum TRD front skid plate offers protection for the underbody bits, and the outfit is completed with a BF Goodrich A/T KO tires on 16-inch bead lock wheels, rock rails and a roof rack. Check out the high-res image gallery above and the press release below for all the rest of the details. Continue reading Toyota bids farewell to FJ Cruiser with Ultimate Edition at SEMA Toyota bids farewell to FJ Cruiser with Ultimate Edition at SEMA originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Nov 2013 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Japan , Toyota Toyota has had number of chiefs over its 76-year history, but none ever served as long as Eiji Toyoda. The younger cousin of the company’s founder served as president of the automaker from 1967 to 1982 and as chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation for another ten years following the unification of the manufacturing and sales divisions. During his 25 years at the helm, Eiji Toyoda (pictured above in 1967) was credited with establishing the company’s headquarters in Toyota City, spearheading the development of the Prius , expanding production overseas for the first time, launching the Lexus brand and turning Toyota from a minor player into one of the largest automakers in the world. Even after his retirement in 1992, he remained an honorary chairman and close advisor to his successors, and chaired the company’s museum. He died of heart failure, ending a 100-year life that started on September 12, 1913, before the company that bore his family’s name (albeit slightly modified) had even started building automatic looms, let alone automobiles. We extend our condolences to the Toyoda family and our congratulations on an accomplished life. Eiji Toyoda dead at 100 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Performance , Lexus , Scion , Toyota , Luxury It has been said before, but this time we hope we’re joining Toyota in saying it again: the brand should build proper performance cars like it did over a decade ago. Apparently, at least one person at the Japanese automaker agrees. Auto Express recently spoke with Toyota Europe Executive Vice President Karl Schlicht, who said: “We are currently discussing sport lines for Toyota models. There is an appetite for Toyota to do credible performance cars.” And there’s evidence that the Japanese automaker is taking performance seriously. First there’s the excellent Scion FR-S (known as the Toyota GT86 overseas), a joint-development with Subaru . And then there are other less-subtle projects and concepts like the Lexus LS Sports 650 shown above, a 650-horsepower super-sedan developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH , and the more recent Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R , a 420-hp super capacitor-equipped hybrid hatchback, which also was developed by TMG. All of this leads us to ask two questions: is TMG gearing up to be Toyota’s next official performance brand? Will it have a hand in the development of a successor to the revered but long-dead Supra? We’re not sure, but let’s assume Toyota rules out another established sub-brand to produce performance cars, Toyota Racing Development. TRD has produced performance parts and accessories for awhile, and has even produced sport-oriented vehicles in some markets, but there’s little evidence it will be part of a serious performance initiative at Toyota.

Filed under: Performance , Lexus , Scion , Toyota , Luxury It has been said before, but this time we hope we’re joining Toyota in saying it again: the brand should build proper performance cars like it did over a decade ago. Apparently, at least one person at the Japanese automaker agrees. Auto Express recently spoke with Toyota Europe Executive Vice President Karl Schlicht, who said: “We are currently discussing sport lines for Toyota models. There is an appetite for Toyota to do credible performance cars.” And there’s evidence that the Japanese automaker is taking performance seriously. First there’s the excellent Scion FR-S (known as the Toyota GT86 overseas), a joint-development with Subaru . And then there are other less-subtle projects and concepts like the Lexus LS Sports 650 shown above, a 650-horsepower super-sedan developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH , and the more recent Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R , a 420-hp super capacitor-equipped hybrid hatchback, which also was developed by TMG. All of this leads us to ask two questions: is TMG gearing up to be Toyota’s next official performance brand? Will it have a hand in the development of a successor to the revered but long-dead Supra? We’re not sure, but let’s assume Toyota rules out another established sub-brand to produce performance cars, Toyota Racing Development. TRD has produced performance parts and accessories for awhile, and has even produced sport-oriented vehicles in some markets, but there’s little evidence it will be part of a serious performance initiative at Toyota.